Show 4 a Christ Chri st I Is s Re Risen lsen I ill Arise Ari i had grown dry old l withered All the best springs H of ot its nature had dried up and there was no flow of invigorating invigorating invigorating hope and barely anything anything any any- t thing of pureness and sweetness issuing f Ing from it The emperor of or the world was at once a n high priest an atheist and nd a god The fairest and noblest in inife life ife permitted their names to be inscribed inscribed in- in scribed upon the of ot those who had failed to maintain even the cleanliness o of the flesh The human race ace had gone to seed But by the overruling of Providence One Life Lire had ad been prematurely maintained in righteousness true to mans man's original Divine type Mown down by the sword word of injustice this harvested seed was vas sown in a garden in Jerusalem Sown as the of wheat flings his good grain into the soil solI and simply simply simply sim sim- ply leaves It to the mercy of ot the Maser Master Master Mas- Mas ter er of ot the earth and the Lord of life Ufe AS J the farmer merely closes the field gate ate upon his seeded field and can do domo domo doo mo o m more re than wait walt Just as we sow the forms of them we have loved set stone or some mark to show w where ere jve we have laid them and come away to f soothe ourselves with weeping i Till lit lifes life's long long shadows break brcak In fn cloudless cloudless cloudt cloud cloud- t less love There Thera is a wonderful vitality in a I seed A wealthy man once built a great stone tomb for himself and i carved upon it This tomb the everlasting everlasting everlasting ever ever- lasting abode of ot its owner must not be opened to all eternity Inadvertently Inadvertently the workmen buried burled a tiny seed with the impious dead man Swollen by the moisture from his decaying corpse corpse It sprouted found a crevice where light shone through grew grow to it and through it and today a tall tree stands stands with Its KB roots in the old tomb I rand the stones so BO laboriously built Unto tInto nto place are shattered and thrown I aside by the resistless growing po power er erf I of f what had been contained in that tiny iny seed t. t I. I There is an immortal vitality about humanity That sown In the garden a at atI t I Jerusalem burst through the tomb and ind appeared again as much more gl glothan glo- glo o- o flous noun than the Body which had been bee n I sown as the field of corn Is lovelier as as s it waves In the tho autumn sunshine e r f than han the bare grain the farm farmer r sowe sowed Bowed ed d jn ln the spring Sown in a natural natura l fody body it is raised a spiritual body It Is Isa a a- prudent thing however to apt ap ape It t ply ly tho the actual tests to the tho seeds of ot th the e crop upon the tho vitality x Ot of f which muc much h I May nay d depend pend That sort of a a. test wa wat was s t applied to humanity at Easter timer time r One of ourselves bone of ot our bone Mesh flesh of our flesh was sown and b bi by bytho byo Y i the tho o mastery of tho the Master of Life th the Ye e resurrection process was accelerated 1 i nd the Innate vitality of ot man man was wa s lg roved proved to be a great glorious reality to I t It la is tho message of ot spring I It t comes to encourage us Just when w wt we were e. e t re committing s so much ucb wealth to o the 3 0 1 I soil and its Master It says to the he farmer have no fear for results since the flowers have come through the ground your grain will also come The Easter lily is a sign to you of the gracious gracious gra gra- cious beauty which will crown your hard labor which will follow what isso is isso isso so disagreeable at the There was nothing lovely about the lily bulb remember The resurrection message is a signal set up in the race through life reminding It that there is nothing more certain than That men may rise on stepping stones Of their de dead d selves to higher things He is not here said the heavenly intelligence to those who sought Bought a dead bod body in the tomb To the world of ot men the message runs do not grope in the grave of disappointed hope or of unfulfilled desire Newn Newness Newness New n ness ness ss of life is yours yours Let the past lie dead as it will New days arise arise for you OU with new hopes better openings You can never ne lose vitality While there is life there is hope And hope persevered in finds certain fruition at harvest time He Is Risen rings out stone beside the tomb And the little crocus bud thrusting itself through even snow and cold points the message message message mes mes- sage Since I am hero doubt not He roseAnd roso rose And keep with mo me this Easter Easier da day For he was vas just the testing seed the first fruits If he rose so will our blessed dear ones in like manner everso ever everso everso so much better letter for having been laid aside as the watchmaker lays your watch to pieces on his tray The answering message is not elm sim simply ply DIy I too shall rise so some e da day Not Nott t s TOUCH ME NOT only the halt half comforted cry of bereavement bereave bereave- ment went I shall meet them all again some time That is a graveside de morality morality morality mor mor- which Is only half religious The true answer to the Easter call He lie Is Risen is I will arise and go to my Father ani and will sa say unto him Father I will arise That Is humanity's watchword now There Is no need for hiding even under the shadow of the cross itself Usel No shirkIng shirking shirk shirk- ing lag of ot hard dut duty even for the blessed security of a life lICe given to devotion and contemplation a away ay from lifes life's temp No sitting under the tho willow trees in helpless grief Merry ringlets ringlets ringlets ring ring- lets of golden beauty bede bedeck k even the willows at Easter time With all tho the world springing Into renewed re re- re- re Hewed ewed activity man matt too cries from his failures his his backsliding backslid ing lag I will arise and go bO to my Father Every night he reminds himself l J 1 shall arise again tomorrow to a 3 new life lite somewhere Every time he slips slip back in some manner he cries I 1 will arise Resurrections are occurring all allaround allaround allaround around us every day New grip grip Is taken token ta to ken on work here new new hope of better life Ufe there everywhere the world is trying to rise and bear flowers not thorns for tor no one now deliberately starts out to do any but the right thing If a little flower can preach an Easter message how much much more a aman aman man or woman or child Cheery fighting against trouble e and difficulty has lIas blessing in it for all who witness It In rising to better things by sheer hard climbing many another is helped too The ruin of a man has found Cound his way back to the strength which has made a man man manof of him again is himself one to whom others look and almost incredulously cry He is Risen and possibly some one may say Then will I also cry I will arise and go to my Father also In the words of one of ot the sweetest of the Easter Easter hymns w written j just st as its author author- was telling his dying body I will arise the Easter message translated into action has for its motto mot snot to I 1 fear tar no foe toe with Thee Theo at J hand band to bless Ills have no weight and tears no bitterness bitterness bitterness bitter bitter- ness Where Is Deaths Death's sting sUng Where Grave Gravo thy victory I 1 triumph still sUll If 11 Thou abide with me |